Jane Austen Quotes

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57. Mr. Bennet is a likeable, funny character. But his witty remarks can be very cynical and sarcastic. His detached irony is, like his library, an escape room where he retreats for sanctuary to insulate himself from family responsibilities. He is a laissez-faire father whose neglect of his parenting duties and continuous ridicule of his wife is partly responsible for Lydia’s disgrace. Mr. Bennet speaks here on the secret of life, that all we are here for is to laugh at our neighbors’ follies and nonsense and they at ours. He makes his ironic comment after a letter from Mr. Collins about a rumored engagement between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, which he thinks very funny.